Baseball Recruiting

Dan Briand, Head Baseball Coach at Anna Maria College, Talks About the Recruiting Process

By Ashton Grenon|Updated on June 27, 2023 (originally published on March 7, 2022)

Athlete/Coach Interviews are posted every Thursday/Monday for recruiting advice, what to look for, and more.

Coach Briand is entering his 5th season as the head coach of the Anna Maria Amcats baseball team. Prior to coaching, Briand was a collegiate baseball player himself, playing at Becker College from 2005-2009. 2aDays was fortunate enough to sit down with Coach Briand to discuss how his playing experience translates into coaching, what he looks for in recruits, and his expectations for his team in the future.

Making Use of Playing Experience
As mentioned above, Coach Briand was a player himself at Becker College. He attributes how he recruits for his team to his own recruiting experience: “Going through it personally and figuring out the right fit has definitely really helped for when I'm going out and trying to build a team.”

What Do You Look For in Recruits?
“We're looking for guys that slipped through the cracks. The old saying is that, ‘Division 3 players don't win in Division 3.' We want the guys that may have been a tick slower (they ran a 6.9s 60m instead of a 6.6).” Coach Briand goes on to say that it's about the right fit. While he and his staff don't have the luxury of recruiting the top 100 recruits every year, he is proud of how his team is built. After going 18-10 in the 2021 season, Anna Maria (located in Massachusetts) baseball goes into the 2022 season with student-athletes from California, Nevada, Florida, Pennsylvania, etc.

Coach Briand mentions that he looks for “players that can hit.” While baseball has several different positions, he says, “You gotta get your best 9 bats in the lineup.” He prefers to have athletes all around the diamond that can make plays at any position.

“We are just looking for good kids that play the game the right way…kids that are willing to do the little things in the offseason that really take ownership of their development.” Coach Briand says that he loves the group of guys that he has at Anna Maria.

2021-22 Season Expectations
“The expectation is the same every year.” Coach Briand says. The goal is always to win the league (Great Northeast Athletic Conference) and make the national tournament. He is excited to get started, and the season opener is right around the corner. Anna Maria baseball kicked off the season on March 2, vs. Brandeis University.

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Photo source: Anna Maria